CSR Brush Pony

Chapters

Chapter 1, Preliminaries
Chapter 2, Surrounded
Chapter 3, Language
Chapter 4, Unwinding
Chapter 5, Plea
Chapter 6, Seriously?
Chapter 7, More Help
Chapter 8, Going In
Chapter 9, Traitor from Within
Chapter 10, Remember
Chapter 11, Minor Details
Chapter 12, Welcoming a Tribe
Chapter 13, Wrap Up

Chapter 1, Preliminaries

Hi, it's me, Princess Twilight, and I absolutely love doing this! I have helped friends record stuff that happened, and it has always been such amazing fun. This is all mine. I guess I am the official Canterlot Recorder, for this episode, anyway.

The focus of this account is a completely new species of pony that walked into Equestria one day. That was an exciting thing all by itself. But maybe we, maybe us Equestria ponies, we should have expected this. Equestria is such a big kingdom, hundreds of miles in many directions. For centuries we have been the only 'sentient', thinking animals in our kingdom and surrounding areas, that we knew of.

Well, there have always been Cougars around us. I guess, early on in Equestria's history, the Cougar clans were almost the death of the pony race. But as we pony tribes banded together, well, that was a different story. Since then, most Cougars have been content, and maybe wise enough, just to stay away. Those that ventured close were quickly put to death before they killed a pony, which they would do, given the chance.

The concensus of Equestria's leadership is that Cougars are not sentient, or just barely sentient if that is even possible. My brother (Shining Armor, the head of Equestria's military) told me once of an expedition that he headed years ago, as a junior officer. I found and read his account in the military journals. The expedition was pretty risky, and took Shining Armor and his batallion far out West where there are more Cougars. The whole goal of the expedition was to actually explore this aspect, to try to see if the Cougar clans, if a single Cougar possessed any thinking behavior that would qualify them as sentient. The plan was simple enough. Orders read to capture a Cougar, transfer it to a cage, then try various attempts at communicating with it. The rest was vague, since it just was not clear what the next step would be. Of course being able to understand if there was any substantive motive for the fact that Cougars usually attack a pony on sight or scent, and usually without any sort of advance warning or provocation. This whole behavior seemed to mark the Cougars out as primative animals, relying on native responses and abilities just to calm a hungry belly. The expedition's goal was to try to find some reason, any reason why the Cougar race should not be treated in this way. Equestria does truly value justice, and even ravenous Cougars... The leadership of Equestria just wanted to make sure.

Catching a lone Cougar was not too hard for this group, and sleep and levitation spells allowed it to be transferred into a cage. When it woke up, it went absolutely crazy, clawing at the iron bars, pushing with all its might against the cage, the door, growling loudly the whole time. While Unicorns stood ready with sleep magic, that Cougar fought valiantly to get free. And if any pony of the batallion walked a little closer, the Cougar would stretch one of it's front legs past the bars, claws bared, and swipe madly in the direction of that pony. After maybe three hours of this, the Cougar wore itself out, and lapsed into what was guessed to be sleep, or maybe exhaustion. The Cougar didn't move. An hour later that Cougar woke up, started moving again, but just sat up in that cage, growling loudly.

Shining armor came up with this part. All the ponies around the Cougar stayed completely silent. Every five minutes or so, Shining Armor himself would slowly but clearly say one simple word. He repeated the word three times. The goal of this part of the study was to try to see if the Cougar had any cognition of the pony language. This would tell us a lot. After maybe thirty or so basic, simple words, the Cougar responded to one word, and immediately went crazy again, clawing at the cage, the doors, the bars, and putting a front leg, paw and claws out, swinging it towards Shining Armor. The word? It was "food"... The entire expedition was concluded at that point. It was further concluded that the Cougar race could not be reasoned with. Shining Armor said that particular Cougar was put to death as painlessly as possible. It was clear that this test Cougar would immediately attack the ponies of the batallion as soon as the door of the cage was opened. Shining Armor valued his batallion, and had the beast killed.

Beyond that, the books I have read seem to paint a picture of Equestria as an idyllic, never-ending meadow where ponies can frolic in the Sun. Well, there is still the occasonal Cougar, so we need to be careful.

And, I guess, this is more anecdotal evidence. One of our friends seemed to have encountered large, jet-black Panthers in Equestria, well in the future, and recorded in a dream of all things. And I know that sounds weird. Still, if that is true, they are probably 'out there somewhere' now, just far beyond the outer reaches of Equestria. They helped the ponies and fought the Cougars, from the record that I am familiar with, so who knows. Still, this is just another piece of the puzzle.

And there is my good friend Zecora. She calls herself a Zebra, but has so many pony-like features. Her kind also lives far away, but are considered just a slightly different kind of pony. And Zecora is very gifted magically, even though she is not a Unicorn.

Overall, for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, it has just been the three main pony races. Pegasus ponies can fly, Unicorn ponies can learn and use magic to varying degrees, and Earth ponies can do neither, but are usually very capable physically. We all seem to balance out each other, and I think that is the important thing. To survive, we absolutely have to work together. We have felt that urgency since the kingdom of Equestria was founded.

And the history of Equestria's language is somewhat uncertain. What we consider "modern Equestrian" is the same language that has been spoken here for at least a thousand years. From what I have read, there seemed to be an older version, called 'old pony' in some accounts. Evidently this all changed when Princesses Celestia and Luna were crowned, at the birth of Equestria as a kingdom. Our language has evolved little over that period, easily exceeding a thousand years.

And this account unfolded early this last Summer, and seemed to be over and done before Fall set in. We were also starting to help a young Unicorn mare that wandered into town early this summer. Us girls were all over that! And with exciting new lessons, along with helping with Princess Celestia's resulting commentaries, this made for a busy summer, busy, but very fun!

Well, I have tried to do my homework. All this serves as important background information. Of course, I have tried to be thorough, and do what supporting reading and research I could. I am not sure how much any of this prepared us though. Imagine my amazement when Fluttershy led three of an entirely new and different species of pony into my Library!

Author's Note

Note: Unless otherwise noted, the music flowing in the background for this entire story is "A New Horizon - Tavnazian Archipelago" from the Original Soundtrack for the "Chains of Promethia" expansion for "Final Fantasy XI", and this all is copyright by Square Enix.

Chapter 2, Surrounded

Hi, I'm Fluttershy. I guess this chapter is mine. It is really my sister's, but she can't. And we aren't even supposed to talk about that either. Well, it's just hard. And, I don't know how good I am at this...

Anyway, My sister Summer and her Stallion Shysage were out flying one morning. They live in a... next to some big trees. Well, it is to the West of Ponyville, maybe a good hour's walk away. I try to visit them when I can.

But they were doing their morning flying. They fly together every morning, in the summer anyway. I really miss that. They were flying further to the West, I think, from their big trees. Summer said they heard a bunch of loud growling long before they saw anything. It didn't take them long to get there. Maybe six or seven Cougars had surrounded what looked like a family, 3 ponies, maybe. Well, it sounded like all three of the ponies were crying. And the Cougars were intent on making them lunch, and very soon. My sister observed all this from the air. Shysage landed next to the 3 different ponies right away, and the Cougars stopped briefly. My sister next... well I can't tell you how. But she dropped a big rock on the head of every one of those Cougars, killing each of them instantly. The Cougars were quickly all dead. Then Summer landed next to Shysage, next to the 3 new ponies.

Well, it was a family of ponies maybe; a mare, a stallion, and a foal, I guess. For the longest time, Summer and Shysage just hugged them, and cried with them. They didn't move, maybe they couldn't move. They were probably scared to death. Of course, almost getting eaten by Cougars, this was very traumatic, I'm sure. My Sis is a lot like me, we just can't ignore things, feelings like that.

After maybe an hour of crying, the stallion was quiet, and the mare was working at comforting the foal, who only slowly calmed down. The foal was the last to stop crying. It was at that point that my sister asked quietly "Can we help you?" I don't know, Summer and Shysage, they try to help everypony.

The mare looked down, shook her head slowly left and right with her eyes closed. Summer correctly realized, or maybe she just sensed this. The mare wasn't saying "No", she just didn't understand what Summer had asked. It was only then that Summer realized... This family, these three, they were very different from the ponies that live in Equestria. The mare and stallion were roughly our size, and had bodies, legs like ours, but their coats, their tails, their ears... They were very different.

My sister is so much like me. Summer walked over to the mare, put her head right next to the mare's head, and I think they just felt together briefly. Both smiled, then Summer pulled her head away, and motioned with her head for the mare to follow she and Shysage. The mare did, and of course, the whole family came. I guess too, they realized that Summer had somehow killed the Cougars that wanted to eat them. I think they felt safer around Summer and Shysage. Well, I know I do.

And this is hard. Summer knew that Princess Twilight should be the next destination for these three newcomers, but something, I don't know. Summer and Shysage led them to my Cottage instead. I didn't mind. At least I got to see my Sis...

Summer and I hugged and cried together for a few minutes right away. Like I said, it is just hard, but I can't say... Then Summer explained to me what she knew about the three, and how she and Shysage found and rescued them earlier. She also mentioned that she felt the mare was pretty sensitive, and that would probably prove helpful. And these three didn't understand what we were saying, either. Summer also felt that Princess Twilight needed to know about this; Princess Twilight needed to be their next destination. Summer said quietly she just didn't think she should... Well, that part was just hard. We hugged and cried for a few more minutes, then Summer and Shysage left... went away... back...

Well, right away (after I stopped crying), I did what Summer had done. I put my head down next to the mare's head. We felt inside each other briefly, then we both smiled, and pulled our heads away. I looked at her and said quietly "friend." And my sister was right, the mare seemed very sensitive. I really like sensitive creatures like that. Well, there is Angel, but he can be pretty good when he wants to be. And these new ponies were clearly like us, thinking, communicating... These three weren't just animals.

I motioned for the mare to follow me again, and we headed off to Princess Twilight's Castle. I actually led them on a path that would avoid us going directly through Ponyville. I was pretty sure this would be best for these three. Well, I liked that too, the quiet, the meadow. They stopped once for a little while and ate. They ignored the oats and other grass all over the place, and found broad-leaf plants, bushes and stuff we consider weeds, and enjoyed the leaves. All three ate, and I didn't feel like I should stop them; we really didn't need to be in a hurry. And, I noticed their coats, the colors, they seemed to blend right in with the shadows around the bushes. Anyway, I let them take their time, and eat what they wanted. And I led them to a small pond, and they drank some water, too. Then we resumed our trip to the Castle.

We approached Princess Twilight's Castle from behind, and walked around to the front, then I led them up the steps. Spike was asleep on one of the steps, and they didn't know what to do. I smiled at them, and motioned for them to follow me again, and they did. Spike just snored loudly the whole time.

I led these three down the hall, into the Library, and over to the table where Princess Twilight was reading. I don't like bothering her when she is reading, so I just stood there until she came to the end of a paragraph. Maybe it was the end of a chapter. She finally looked up at me and said "Oh hi Fluttershy, what brings you--" Then she saw the three new, very different ponies I had brought with me. Her eyes got very big in wonder, and she quickly smiled.

Princess Twilight said right away "Welcome to Equestria!" Then I explained that they probably didn't understand what she just said. "Oh..." she said quietly. But I did explain to her everything my Sis had explained to me, how she and Shysage found and rescued them and everything. And I also mentioned the sensitivity part. I explained how my Sis had put her head next to the mare's head, and Princess Twilight did the same thing right away, but only briefly. The mare smiled of course, but Princess Twilight said what I guessed. "I'm not as good at that as you are, Fluttershy." I did that to the mare again. We felt briefly, smiled, then I pulled my head away. I wanted these new ponies to know we were friends. I said that word again, quietly.

And, I realized the second time I did that... It would probably not be a good idea for me to leave these three just yet. I explained this to Princess Twilight, and she agreed. So I walked over, and just stood next to the mare. Her foal was next to her, and her Stallion was on the other side of the foal. Well, I don't know why, but I just felt... I bowed on my front legs to Princess Twilight, even though I usually don't need to. Our three visitors immediately did the same thing. Well, the mare and stallion did. And, this is the first thing we had heard them say. The stallion said something quietly to the foal, and it was only then that the foal bowed too.

Princess Twilight motioned us all up right away, and our three new friends got up when I did. Princess called out "Spike..." and that made me smile. I knew Spike was asleep in the warmth of the Sun on the steps of the Castle. Princess called him again. And it was then that I realized our three new friends might still be afraid of Spike. When Spike dragged himself in, half asleep, I was still standing to the side of the mare. I put my head next to her, felt her, then said quietly "Friend." Well, I wanted them to know Spike wouldn't hurt them, and also to teach them that word. The mare understood, and said the word "Friend" a few times as I said it when she did. She practiced until she got it right. Then she taught that word to her Stallion, then her foal. Well, her foal was so cute. And the mare smiled and rubbed her foal's nose with hers when the foal said it right.

Princess Twilight watched this whole thing with a smile.

"Spike, take a message" Princess Twilight started.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

"Summer and Shysage rescued..."

Princess Twilight was not satisfied with that, and I fought back tears.

"No, start over, Spike, sorry." Being the practical dragon he is, Spike just lined those first words out, and started again, further down on the paper. Princess Celestia would surely see everything. That made me smile. I am not sure why.

Princess Twilight started again, and Spike was quickly writing.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

"Fluttershy has brought three new, very different pony friends into my Library. They..." Princess Twilight stopped right there and thought.

"Fluttershy, what should we say?" Princess looked at me when she asked this.

I just told her what I knew. They look basically like ponies, but are quite different from us. They speak a different language, too. And their foal is so cute. I thought a minute, then added "Maybe you should mention we rescued them from 6 or 7 Cougars."

I was still standing right next to the mare, and she shivered with fear at the mention of that last word. I felt that. Well, I couldn't blame her. But she must have already understood that word too.

Princess Twilight continued her letter to Princess Celestia.

"They are basically the same size and form as us ponies, but look quite different. They also speak a different language, although we seem to be able to teach them some of our words, and they may already know some as well. From what I can briefly sense, they have no magical ability at all, even though one of them has some form of horn. But Fluttershy has been able to use her gifts, and has had some success sensing with them."

Princess Twilight sighed, and said "Fluttershy, I know that sounds awkward, but I don't know what else to say."

"Princess, that sounds fine" I said quietly. Princess Twilight had already made some good observations. Still, Princess concluded the letter.

"It seems these three were rescued from 6 or 7 Cougars earlier today, and Fluttershy brought them here to the Castle, to me.

"If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I will continue to try to develop a relationship with them, and language studies may be the best starting point.

"Your faithful student,

"Princess Twilight"

Spike sent the letter off in a small fireball, and that didn't seem to bother our new friends.

Well, I put my head down next to the mare again, and thought this. I would stay here, with her, with them, as long as they wanted me here. I felt that was the least I could do.

This new, different mare smiled.

And recording this chapter was pretty fun after all. Fiona is a Unicorn, and she did all the writing for me. I can fly some, but I can't write... Oh, and my Sis asked that I call this story the unofficial volume 13 of the Chronicles of Summer Rain. Maybe they will leave that in.

Chapter 3, Language

It's me, Princess Twilight again, and I hope this is not confusing. Fluttershy was probably the best pony to do the last chapter. We may switch off like that as necessary.

It took a little while for Princess Celestia to respond to my letter. Soon after I had Spike send off that letter, Pinkie Pie bounced into the Library. I have no idea what she was here for, but it really didn't matter. She noticed the three new ponies right away. Her eyes were huge, Pinkie was looking at the stallion, I think, and she said quickly "WHOA!" After maybe ten seconds, Pinkie chuckled and said "Bad Horn Day!", then laughed loudly. Then she said just as loudly "Yippee, 3 new friends!"

Fluttershy put her head down next to the mare and said quietly "friend", just to make sure. Pinkie can be rather abrupt at times, but always laughs about it. Still, the stallion had no Unicorn horn, but he did clearly have some sort of horns.

Maybe Pinkie Sense briefly kicked in, just a little anyway. "Princess, these three are from far out West, in case that helps."

I walked over and hugged Pinkie. Most of what she says is either very funny or frightfully important. I have learned to just listen carefully and think. "Thank you, Pinkie" I said with a smile.

"I'll be back if I have anything else, Princess" Pinkie said as she smiled back. Then she trotted out the door. "Yippee, three more friends" she said to herself, over and over, until we could no longer hear her.

After Pinkie left, the reply from Princess Celestia woke Spike up from his middle of the floor nap. He handed me the letter, then staggered back out to the front steps, and was probably quickly back asleep in the sunlight. Even though the letter was belched out of a fireball, I noticed a few wet... tears... I sighed... then read her reply.

"Dear Princess Twilight,

"The rescue has been duly noted, and we do appreciate Fluttershy's involvement. It sounds like her special gifts may prove invaluable.

"...--

"A new species of ponies, this is a fabulous development. By all means, we want to welcome these visitors. And, I agree with you that pursuing better communication with them should be a primary priority.

"Please keep me updated about any new developments. At some point in the next few days, Princess Luna and I can come to your Castle and perhaps visit some with them. Please keep us posted when this might be helpful.

"Princess Celestia"

I thought a minute, then grabbed a quill, some ink, and a clip-board with some paper from my desk. I held everything up with my magic; it all sort of floated around me. And it was probably the middle of the afternoon, and nice and warm outside. "Fluttershy, can we all go for a walk? I would like to just make some initial observations. Can you see if that is ok?"

Fluttershy and the mare communicated via feelings, and then Fluttershy motioned for them to follow her again. The five of us headed down the stairs, around the Castle, and out back, to the huge meadow behind. Once actually in the meadow, I asked Fluttershy to slow way down, and we walked very slowly. I just wanted to observe them, watch to see what they did, how the lived.

I think they were hungry, and quickly found something to nibble on. They seemed to like weeds that ponies seldom eat. The broad-leaf plants, they seemed to prefer them. I wrote this down. Of course, I used my magic to hold the quill and paper, and write my notes. They drank some from a small stream, and we just kept walking, slowly. It was pretty warm. Before I knew it, the foal was asleep in the grass, in the shade, and the mare was on her side, right next to the foal. But I agreed with Fluttershy. Their coats varied little, but they seemed to disappear in the shadows under the bush. I said this out loud as I wrote it: "Brush Pony." It seemed to fit.

Still, the mare didn't sleep, and watched intently as I wrote. The mare said something which Fluttershy and I did not understand. Fluttershy moved her head close, sensed, then said "Oh... Writing" Fluttershy pointed to what I was doing, using my magic to take notes. "Writing" Fluttershy said again quietly. She and the mare took turns saying that word until the mare could say it correctly. I also made a note about that.

Fluttershy was clearly sensing some of the significance of what I was doing. Fluttershy pointed to the foal, asleep on the mare's side. "Arianna" is what the mare appeared to have said. The stallion looked lovingly at the foal and smiled at this. Again, the mare and Fluttershy practiced the word until Fluttershy said it correctly.

But Fluttershy realized the mare did not answer her real question. Fluttershy laid down in the grass, and exactly copied the position of the foal. Fluttershy even closed her eyes. Fluttershy opened her eyes briefly, then said "Sleep", then closed her eyes again. The mare evidently connected, and said "Sleep" with Fluttershy until the mare said it well, then the mare helped the stallion say it.

Sleep, this was an important word. I had not even thought about where these three might spend the night tonight. Even more, I had no idea where these three might want to spend the night. I just had no idea. I think Fluttershy realized this, and was trying to make it easier to find that out. Of course, I made a careful note about all of this.

After a while, the foal woke up, and the three again nibbled on some of the broad leaf plants, again seemingly disappearing and then reappearing as the shadows fell over them. They didn't disappear, but just became much more difficult to see. The markings on their coats were responsible for that I think. I made a note of that too.

The mare walked over to Fluttershy, they put their heads together briefly "Hmm... water..." Fluttershy said slowly. As the mare and Fluttershy practiced that word, I led them all to a small lake further into the meadow, and we all got a drink. Like I said, aside from their coats and what they liked to eat, these three were like us ponies in a lot of ways.

Shyna and Ariel found us at that point. Shyna is Fluttershy's adopted sister (long story), an extremely gifted Pegasus and very sensitive like Fluttershy. Ariel is Summer and Shysage's daughter, also very sensitive. Both girls came to us from the distant Past, and speak 'old Pony' as well as modern Equestrian. And both live with Fluttershy. Both were also flying together that afternoon, saw us from the air, and landed to see what we were doing. Shyna and Ariel were absolutely captivated by the foal right away. Well, Fluttershy was right, the foal was so cute! Fluttershy quietly told them the foal's name (Arianna), and, for the next hour... They didn't go far, but Ariel and Shyna spent some amazing time with that cute little foal! The three of them talked constantly, and the girls taught the foal a bunch of new words. The foal learned both their names, the word for flying... Wow, they jumped from one word to the next, and their foal just drank it all in! Fluttershy was concerned at one point, but I guess the mare felt that. She looked at Fluttershy and quietly said 'friend' then smiled as Ariel and Shyna were playing with her Arianna. It was clear that Arienna was thoroughly enjoying herself anyway. The rest of us just watched. And I wrote very little during that time. Everything was happening so quickly as the three of them played and talked together. I gave up on taking notes.

The mare called her foal over when the sun began to set. As the three of them walked back to mommy, they taught Arianna the word 'tired' along with some hilarious ways to communicate it. And Fluttershy sensed with the mare, and realized that was the problem. The foal needed to rest, to sleep.

Well, we had to get this figured out. "Fluttershy, we need to find out from our new friends where they want to sleep tonight. I think them spending the night outside would not be very wise or safe. Can you see what you can find out?"

Fluttershy looked like she was ready to cry right away, but I think she already knew. Fluttershy put her head next to the mare, then said "sleep... night..." and, head to head, they felt together.

Then the mare spoke, by herself. She pointed to Fluttershy, and said "You", paused a minute, then said quietly and with some difficulty "Sum... Summer..."

I just sighed. This couldn't be helped. The mare's request was reasonable, especially after almost being eaten by Cougars earlier today. Summer had rescued them. It was just that...

Rainbow Dash landed next to us right then. "Princess, Pinkie said you needed me. Just tell me what it is, I will do it. And I hope it has to do with flying!" Of course Rainbow was smiling when she finished.

I sighed again, then hugged Rainbow. "Please let Summer and Shysage know our guests would like to spend the night with them at Fluttershy's."

I knew this would happen. Rainbow's attitude changed immediately. "But Princess, I thought..." Rainbow said quietly, then stopped.

I sighed again, and hugged Rainbow again, and tried to explain. "They rescued these new friends from Cougars. It just needs to be, I guess." Rainbow was quickly in the air, but she was having difficulty smiling, I think.

Fluttershy again felt with the mare briefly, then said 'home' and nodded for her to follow. As they practiced saying 'home', Fluttershy walked to her Cottage. The new mare and stallion walked next to Fluttershy, and the foal Arianna was between Shyna and Ariel, who talked non-stop as long as I could hear.

As I walked back to the Castle by myself, I made a few more notes. First, I suspected the foal would learn our language faster than the mare and stallion. As true friends, Shyna and Ariel literally scooped her up, and folded this different little foal into their love and devotion. Second, because of other recent events, this probably wouldn't be easy. The problem wasn't Summer and Shysage. It was just that... nevermind. Still, welcoming these new, different "Brush Ponies" into Equestria, that was a high priority. I would do everything I could to see that through.

Chapter 4, Unwinding

This is Fluttershy again. I guess this chapter is mine too. These new Brush Ponies, they wanted to spend the night at my house with my Sis there too! Shyna and Ariel were having a lot of fun with the Brush Pony foal, Arianna. It was getting dark, and we all snacked quite a bit on the way home, well to my Cottage. The stallion and mare looked around them constantly though, especially as darkness loomed. I think they really wanted to be indoors, or for my Sis to show up. They seemed; well I felt fear. This was easily understandable since Cougars had almost killed the three of them that morning. My sister Summer had rescued them.

Summer and Shysage landed in the clearing around my Cottage as the rest of us walked up the hill. I couldn't help it; I ran up and hugged my sister and we cried together for a few minutes. While we cried together, Shysage walked over to the Brush Pony stallion, and put his head next to the stallion's. I think they felt together too. Then Shysage pulled his head away, and said quietly friend. The Brush Pony stallion bowed his head a little, then said the same thing. Still wiping away a few tears, Summer next walked over to the Brush Pony mare, and the two of them sensed together again, then hugged. Well, the Brush Ponies weren't afraid any more, anyway. I wasn't either.

I usually keep a fire going in my fireplace all the time. It was the middle of summer, and we didn't need the heat. But we use the fire for cooking, lighting lamps and stuff. Between Shyna, Ariel and I, we try to keep that fire going. If it goes out during the summer, it is not too much of a problem. We just ask a Unicorn from town to come light it for us. Losing our fire is a little more of a problem during the winter. But when we all went into the house, Shyna and Ariel did what they usually do, flopped down in front of the fireplace. They usually spend hours there in the evening talking, practicing Old Pony or whatever, even if there is no fire! They seldom run out of stuff to talk about. But that night, they motioned Arianna right in between them, and the three of them just kept talking, laughing, learning new words...

As Shysage tended to the small fire, the rest of us laid on our bellies sort of in a row, behind the 3 girls in front of the fire. It was the Brush Pony stallion then mare, then Summer, then me. We just watched Shyna, Arianna and Ariel for a long time. Well, it was clear that the mare, and probably the stallion were trying to listen and learn words as they could. This was probably not too hard; Shyna and Ariel carefully repeated new words, then smiled as Arianna worked on learning them. The mare and stallion were learning them too.

After putting some wood on the fire, Shysage laid on his belly near the Brush Pony stallion. Shysage said quietly "Shysage", then bowed his head low briefly. The Brush Pony stallion seemed to know, and then did the same thing. I think he is sensitive too. He said his name (I think) quietly, to Shysage, "Ma-gane", then the stallion also bowed his head low briefly. Neither stallion said much else, but that didn't surprise me.

Maybe an hour later, I noticed that both Summer and the mare were smiling lovingly at their daughters; Summer at Ariel, and the mare at Arianna. Both sensitive mares quickly sensed that in each other. And without asking, both put their heads together, and smiled. Then Summer motioned towards Ariel, and said quietly "Ariel", and the mare practiced until she said it correctly.

Then the mare motioned towards her foal and said "Arianna", and Summer said that back then smiled. The mare looked at Summer with a quizical look on her face, and I guess Summer felt why. I did too. I let Summer answer. "Daughter" Summer said, then the mare practiced that word.

And, I knew this was coming. The mare motioned towards Shyna, then looked at me. I managed to say "Shyna", then began to cry. Shyna, well I adopted her, but I really love her as a daughter. In the Past, she was a beat up, abandoned cast off, but a very sensitive mare like me. I absolutely had to rescue her. Getting her here is a long, long story. Shyna really is like a daughter to me. Well, we love each other a lot. That whole thing made me cry. I just didn't know how I would ever try to explain, or even feel that to this mare. But Shyna felt every bit that I did right then, and jumped up, and pulled me into a tight hug, and we cried together. Like I said, we love each other a lot. She really is my daughter.

Summer tried to help me, and explain for me. She was certainly feeling with me, what I felt. Summer put her head down next to the Brush Pony mare, and then quietly said "abandoned". Well, I guess the mare sensed, then quickly realized, probably mostly felt how things were. She looked at me, then smiled. Wiping tears away, I did too. I was so glad Shyna was with me. Having her here with me was a miracle if there ever was one.

But, while the mare and I were smiling, Summer stopped talking, she stopped smiling. My Sis was quickly fighting back tears. Well, I knew why. She started crying. I think she and Shysage, they both feel... abandoned... Ariel felt this in her mom too, and she jumped up and was quickly hugging, crying with Summer. That made me cry too, and Shyna... We cried together for a little while. We didn't say anything. Maybe we couldn't. Maybe we weren't allowed to say anything...

When we managed to calm down, Arianna was laying up against her mom, yawning. Shyna gently bumped Arianna's nose with hers, and Arianna giggled. Then Shyna and I headed upstairs, to our beds. Summer, Shysage and Ariel found a quiet spot on the floor near the front door, and were soon asleep, right next to each other. The Brush Ponies stayed where they were near the fireplace, and talked a while. The mare was working some more on learning our words, but from Arianna now. That sounded like family fun, and the stallion practiced new words too. I fell asleep before they were done.

But it seemed to me that, since this morning when Summer first brought the Brush Ponies to my Cottage, the three of them seemed a lot calmer now. I was not surprised I guess. But I supposed we would need to find out why at some point.

I must have been tired, and slept in some the next morning. Shyna was already awake and downstairs. I could hear, Shyna and Ariel were back in front of the fireplace with Arianna, talking quietly, laughing together. When I got down the stairs, I found out what I had guessed; Summer and Shysage had already left. They were probably walking back to their trees, and would fly together like they always do in the mornings. I tried not to cry. I laid on my belly next to the Brush Pony mare. She looked at me, smiled, then said haltingly "Summer... back... night..." I sighed at this. I would see my Sis again tonight at least. That meant a lot to me.

There was a knock at the door, and I let Princess Twilight, Filia and Fiona in. Filia and Fiona are twin, magically gifted Unicorn mares with fiery red mane and tail. They were sort of abandoned too, and Princess Twilight adopted them. Filia and Fiona joined Ariel and Shyna right away, and got introduced to Arianna. Then they all talked and laughed together for a while. I was still standing, so Princess Twilight laid on her belly next to the mare. Princess bowed her head slightly, then quietly said "friend." Both the mare and the stallion said friend quietly back.

The mare thought briefly, then said, again haltingly "Walk... today..." She didn't raise her voice at the end, but this was surely a question. Princess understood, then smiled at the mare and nodded.

And I answered Princess' question before she even asked. "Princess, Shyna and Ariel are teaching words to Arianna so fast, then Arianna teaches them to mom and dad." Princess Twilight understood then smiled.

The Brush Pony mare evidently understood most of what I told Princess Twilight. Looking at the girls in front of the fireplace, the mare smiled. "Daughters" she said lovingly. That made me want to cry again. And maybe even Princess Twilight felt that.

It was quiet briefly, then the mare and stallion got up. Then the mare looked at her daughter and said "Arianna, walk." Arianna got quickly up, but then looked at both Ariel and Shyna.

All four girls got up, then took turns hugging Arianna. "We are all walking!" Fiona said, and that was that. Five talking, laughing girls went out first, then the Brush Pony mare and stallion. I reminded a frowning Angel to be good, then I followed Princess Twilight out. We were quickly in the meadow behind my house. We all had breakfast, the Brush Ponies on broad-leaf plants, and us ponies on oats and grass. Then we all drank some water from the creek that runs behind my Cottage. Then we all wandered slowly and aimlessly in the meadow. We all stayed together, but Shyna, Arianna, Filia, Fiona and Ariel stayed close and just had a lot of fun welcoming Arianna, the Brush Pony foal, into life in Equestria. Arianna's mom and dad listened carefully and practiced a lot of new words when Arianna did. Princess Twilight was carefully watching all of this, probably making mental notes as she could. I just followed everyone around, and occasionally helped the mare with a new word.

In the warmth of the afternoon, Arianna took a nap up against her mom, in the shadows of a bush for a while. Princess Twilight explained the Brush Pony name to the girls, and Arianna's mom smiled and nodded. I guess that was fine with her. While Arianna napped, we all took a break and rested. The 4 girls talked quietly together the whole time.

The entire day was like that. Filia, Fiona, Shyna and Ariel talked non-stop, even when Arianna napped. But as soon as Arianna was awake, she rubbed her mom's nose, then jumped back in with them. Each of us stopped and nibbled when we wanted. And, as the day progressed, the Brush Pony mare asked me more questions about words. Princess Twilight often answered; she knows a lot more than I do. It was fine.

And, as the sun headed for the trees, the mare asked quietly "Summer... Cottage... Tonight?' The mare even raised her voice carefully at the end, it was a question. Princess smiled, and nodded yes. That made me smile too. Of course, Rainbow Dash found us soon after (probably thanks to Pinkie Pie), then flew off to let Summer and Shysage know. When we got to my Cottage, Princess Twilight, Filia and Fiona hugged everypony then headed to the Castle. Rainbow flew back to us with Summer and Shysage, everypony hugged everypony again, then Rainbow headed off for what little more flying she could do. Summer and I hugged right away, then Summer hugged the Brush Pony mare. Our evening together went the same as yesterday. Arianna, Shyna and Ariel talked and laughed together until late. Then we all went to sleep.

Princess Twilight and I decided this was a good place for me to stop. The next day went a little differently...

Chapter 5, Plea

It's me again, Princess Twilight. And I guess, well that tune in the background never went away(1). Fluttershy said she heard it too, all the time now. She said she was starting to like it.

Princess Celestia agreed that the ability to communicate with this new species of Pony was my first task. Clipboard in hand, I dove into language acquisition. Well, the Magic of Friendship took quickly over, as Shyna and Ariel, along with Filia and Fiona; these amazing and loving girls really did scoop up and embrace Arianna, the Brush Pony foal, and cherish her like they do each other. Arianna was learning our language so fast, and this helped mom and dad learn our language too. After that first day, my clipboard, ink and quill stayed at the Castle, as true friendship took over. The result was the same, only faster. By the third day they were among us, the Brush Pony mare was asking me a lot of questions, about our words, about Equestria. This was very good.

The Brush Pony family spent every night at Fluttershy's Cottage. Fluttershy's sister, who had actually rescued the Brush Ponies from Cougars, she was there too. That seemed only right; it would be difficult for anypony else to match her abilities. Well, maybe we could surround Fluttershy's Cottage with guards. I suggested that, but my brother Shining Armor pointed out that we really didn't know anything about that, and he didn't see the need. I agreed with he and Princess Celestia, that having Fluttershy's sister near was more an act of consideration on our part; neither perceived any additional threat. I felt it was the least we could do for our guests, and it did help them feel more comfortable here. That was reason enough as far as I was concerned.

As I walked to Fluttershy's Cottage with Filia and Fiona that fourth day, I had opportunity to thank Filia and Fiona for their part in this whole thing. I explained that their amazing friendship was helping Arianna, and really the whole Brush Pony family, to come more quickly up to speed in their ability to communicate with us. From Equestria's perspective, that was very helpful. We stopped and hugged briefly. They really are like my adopted daughters, and I love them a lot. Well, I share Fiona with Rarity, but that is not a problem either. Fiona shares Rarity's taste for fashion, and that is fine. Rescuing Filia and Fiona, that was our real goal when they came to us. Now it seems like they are helping us do the same thing with this new family. Friendship is like that; it spreads easily!

The five girls spilled out the door of Fluttershy's Cottage soon after we arrived. I walked with the Brush Pony mare and stallion as we followed the girls, and the mare spoke to me briefly. Fluttershy was soon on my other side. I think we all were looking forward to another amazing day wandering the meadow. I had to put a lot of Princess stuff on hold to be able to spend all day outside with this new family. I was really enjoying that!

As we walked, the Brush Pony stallion asked carefully "Summer... come?"

I had to think a minute what the right answer to this question should be. "Back tonight" I said slowly. I hoped that was enough.

We all had some breakfast first thing. As usual, the Brush Ponies ate what we ponies avoid, and we enjoyed the grass and oats. A stop at the creek for a drink, and then we wandered out into the meadow. The Sun was already high, and the warmth felt amazing. I was pretty sure our walk in the meadow would shimmer today. And it sounded to me like Arianna was doing quite a bit of talking in... Shyna laughed and called it 'New Pony' and she meant modern Equestrian. Arianna actually understood that joke! And I noticed that the Brush Pony stallion and mare were also trying to talk in modern Equestrian, and Fluttershy and I helped them with that most of the morning. That was fun! Overall, this Brush Pony family was making amazing progress. I could see a visit by the rest of Equestria's Princesses in a matter of days.

After we nibbled for lunch, Arianna took a nap next to her mom under a bush. Filia, Fiona, Shyna and Ariel were sitting together talking, not too far away, but further into the meadow. Fluttershy and I were resting in the grass near the Brush Pony family. At one point Fluttershy was trying to explain the huge ears that the Brush Pony family all had. Fluttershy guessed their hearing was probably very good. Fluttershy stopped mid-sentence though, and nodded towards them. Both the mare and stallion, ears very high and straight, they were looking intently to a point beyond Filia, Fiona, Shyna and Ariel. Not really too concerned, we just watched them briefly. But I think Fluttershy felt...

It was only then that we heard the Cougar growl, loudly. The brush pony foal, Arianna, woke up immediately at that sound, and began to cry. I... screamed. I guess... Such terrible beasts in our meadow... I was just not ready for that... Arianna got quickly up, then the three Brush Ponies cowered behind me. I wanted to cower behind them!

I have to rely on Fluttershy for this part; I was pretty useless, and just kept crying, along with the Brush Pony family. And when we heard the second Cougar... Maybe I freaked out...

According to Fluttershy, the four girls got up right away. Standing there, they formed a line between the rest of us and the two Cougars. Ariel, Shyna, Filia and Fiona, these amazing four girls did not back away, run away, and stood their ground as both Cougars slowly advanced, growling loudly.

Ariel was in the middle. "Girls, can you sleep them?" Ariel was obviously talking to Filia and Fiona. A sleep spell is very difficult, and I mean very difficult, unless you have a lot of natural magical ability. Well, Filia and Fiona have that. On their own, they found a sleep spell months ago, and learned it by practicing on each other. I supervised, but these two gifted Unicorns really didn't need me. And casting the sleep spell presented no problems to either girl.

Fiona said quietly "Left Cougar, got it."

Filia then added "I'll sleep the right one."

And I have no idea who did what. A few seconds later the Cougar growling stopped. Maybe five seconds later, I heard a very loud "BANG", and then five more seconds another loud "BANG". That scared me, and I think I screamed again.

Fluttershy said Ariel mentioned quietly "Check for fire girls, and get some water ready."

Fifteen seconds later, Filia and Fiona bolted back to me and we cried. Shyna and Fluttershy were quickly hugging.

Fluttershy said ten seconds later, not very long, Shysage and... Summer... landed in front of Ariel, who was still facing the two lifeless Cougar carcasses. Summer ran straight for the Brush Pony mare, and they hugged right away, and the Brush Pony family began to calm down.

I guess Shysage was hugging Ariel (his daughter) right away too. Fluttershy heard this as she and Shyna hugged, not far away.

"Daddy, I didn't know what else to do..." Ariel said with tears in her eyes.

Shysage smiled. "You are your mom's daughter... Ariel, you saved everypony around you."

Ariel protested "Well, Filia and Fiona slept them so I could aim better..."

"So it was a group effort" Shysage said as he smiled at Ariel again.

Fluttershy said Shysage turned, walked over to the nearest dead Cougar. Ariel followed him, Shysage quietly said this. "Meat sacks... These were long range scouts. Our Brush Pony friends must be very important." Shysage paused briefly, then Shysage said quietly "Ariel, you need to be very careful from here on out. I don't think... There may be more." Only then did Ariel cry as Shysage hugged her.

Well, Fluttershy said Summer and Shysage bowed to me before they left. I think I was a mess, and didn't notice. After a few minutes they got up, and got ready to leave. Both hugged Ariel, but the Brush Pony mare walked quickly over. "Please... stay..."

Summer hugged the Brush Pony mare right away. After a minute, they put their heads together. Summer said slowly "will check fields from the air, will be back tonight." Fluttershy said she then explained that to the mare, so she understood.

I think I was calming down at that point. I am just not used to such terrifying creatures being out here in our meadow. That whole thing took me by suprise, and really scared me. I was thankful that Fluttershy was able to still function, at least, and help especially note what I could not.

The Brush Pony mare walked over to me. She put her head low. Then she said quietly "Please rescue Brush Pony..." She stopped there, and looked up at Fluttershy. The two sensed briefly. The Brush Pony mare started again. "Please rescue Brush Pony tribe..." She quickly started saying that over and over... "Please rescue Brush Pony tribe..." Before long, the mare was laying on the ground crying loudly, crying out that same phrase... "Please rescue Brush Pony tribe..."

Minutes earlier, I was a mess... As she lay there pleading, pleading for the life of their whole tribe, it seemed... I looked up, off into the distance... feeling for Equestria to lead me...

"We will..." I said quietly.

We all walked slowly back to Fluttershy's Cottage. Rainbow Dash was waiting there, and I sent her off to get Summer and Shysage for the evening.

Filia, Fiona and I walked slowly back to the Castle. They told me what had actually happened; that they had helped Ariel and such. I didn't even know Ariel could... At one point, I stopped, and we hugged. "You girls were very brave" I said through tears.

Fiona smiled, even with tears streaming down her face. "We were protecting our friends..." We hugged and cried together there for a little while more.

As soon as we were back at the Castle, I found Spike, on the steps in the Sun again, and had him take this message, as Filia and Fiona headed inside.

"Dearest Princess Celestia,

"Two more Cougars attacked those of us around the Brush Pony family this afternoon. The Cougars were quickly destroyed, and nopony was injured, but I think this surfaced the Brush Pony families' real need. The mare pleaded with me, probably with Equestria, to rescue the Brush Pony tribe. Even though I have no idea what such a rescue might look like, on behalf of Equestria, and I think with Equestria's leadership, I promised the mare that we would.

"I am honestly puzzled by the appearance of these beasts so close to our city, no less. There have been two such attacks, in less than 5 days. I have no idea what to conclude from all this.

"Beyond that, I await your, Equestria's direction in this matter. I remain...

"Your faithful student,

"Princess Twilight"

Spike sent the letter off in a fireball, then sniffed. "Just send an army in and get them out. How hard could that be?"

I was deep in thought anyway, and only slowly heard Spike's suggestion. Then I replied. "I can't see my brother doing that without knowing more. I think we will just need to wait and see. It is really up to Equestria now."

Spike was deep in thought too. "Wow, Cougars in our fields... That is scary..." Then Spike smiled. "Wait until I am bigger. I'll show them!"

I smiled at Spike's last comment. Some day he would be huge. But for now, Cougars so close... "I think they were after the Brush Pony family, but yes. That needs to be addressed too." I said slowly. I looked off to the East as the setting Sun behind the Castle cast an orange glow on Ponyville. "We should know more tomorrow, I think."

Then we walked inside.

Author's Note

Unless otherwise noted, the music flowing in the background for this entire story is "A New Horizon - Tavnazian Archipelago" from the Original Soundtrack for the "Chains of Promethia" expansion for "Final Fantasy XI", and this all is copyright by Square Enix.

Chapter 6, Seriously?

Well, it's me, Fluttershy. And I don't know how much of this they will keep in...

After those two Cougars, it was the middle of the afternoon. I think the Brush Pony family wanted to be inside, anyway. They were fearful for a while. I couldn't blame them. Well, Ariel was with us, well Ariel, Shyna, Fiona and Filia. The four of them led the way back to my Cottage. I think we were all being a lot more careful. Behind these four, the Brush Pony family walked, with the foal Arianna in the middle. Mom and dad's ears were high and alert. I think they were helping us keep an eye out. I was pretty sure the Brush Ponies heard the Cougars approach long before the Cougars started growling.

We made it to my Cottage ok, and went inside right away. I never felt uncomfortable being outside around my Cottage, even in the middle of the night. But now... Well, we were all somewhere between freaked out and being careful maybe. Princess Twilight, Filia and Fiona left soon after. Three girls spread out in front of the low fire, and started talking, laughing... That helped the rest of us relax some, I think. Summer and Shysage came soon after. Shysage carefully kicked a little more wood on the low fire, then was on his belly next to Summer. I relaxed the rest of the way after they came, after my Sis and I hugged and cried together a few minutes. Summer made it a point again of hugging the Brush Pony mare. Their hugs were getting longer, I think. They really were friends now.

From that point, our evening went as it usually did, except that Shyna and I stayed downstairs and slept with everypony else. For some reason, Arianna wanted to sleep with the girls, and mom said ok. We basically slept where we were. I was next to my Sis, I didn't mind.

Well, the next morning was just hard. The Brush Pony mare and stallion were up talking quietly together in their own language when I woke up. The girls woke up together and started talking soon after. But everything seemed a lot... maybe it was tension I was feeling.

Summer and Shysage hugged Ariel, then Summer hugged the Brush Pony mare. Summer and Shysage were getting ready to leave. They really weren't supposed to even be... nevermind.

Summer hugged the mare, and told her "Back later maybe" and the mare bowed her head a little. Then Summer and Shysage left.

Well, we knew where our next stop was. We had to go to Princess Twilight's Castle to find out how Equestria would rescue the Brush Pony tribe. I think that was why the Brush Ponies were a little tense. I had no clue what would happen either. And if this was the whole reason they came to us in the first place... Well, I guessed we would find out soon. I walked them directly through town. They got some strange looks, but I don't think they wanted to be in the meadow right now.

Once we were in the Castle, in the Library, Princess Twilight read the letter from Princess Celestia. Of course I nodded politely, and said yes. Of course I would do anything I could to help the Brush Pony family. I even thanked Princess Twilight for this task. But, seriously? I guess Shining Armor didn't think he had enough information about the Cougars to even guess how many guards would be enough for any sort of military action. And he didn't have any information about the Brush Pony tribe, where they were, how they were situated, is the word he used, I think. Princess Celestia proposed that I would go back with the Brush Pony family and find out some more. That was Equestria's plan to rescue the Brush Pony tribes... sending me... to die... I didn't say that, of course. As calmly as I could, I just accepted my... I just pasted on a smile, and said "Yes... Of course... And, thank you..."

Like I said, seriously? In the last five days, 9 Cougars had attacked, and they wanted just me to go back with the Brush Pony family? I would die of fear if... when a Cougar attacked us...

I smiled and said yes, of course I would do that. And the Brush Pony mare thanked Princess Twilight, too. But I felt right away from the Brush Pony mare... disappointment, maybe even dispair... I felt the same way. I was pretty sure this would not end well at all.

The Brush Pony mare called for Arianna, and hugged her tightly. Then she said to Princess Twilight "Arianna stay here, safer?" This was a question, and four amazing friends quickly surrounded Arianna. Filia said "We will watch her every move!" The Brush Pony mare said quietly "Stay in most..." I think everypony understood.

The Brush Pony mare and stallion bowed to Princess Twilight and thanked her again. She had us up right away. Then the mare looked at me, then said quietly, carefully "Let's go", then she and her stallion headed out of the Library.

Princess Twilight stopped me, and we hugged. "Fluttershy, please hurry back. Equestria needs you safe. And I know this might not be the best task for you, but be careful." Of course, I smiled and hugged Princess Twilight, and I told her I would be careful. But seriously? What were they thinking?

The Brush Pony mare and stallion were waiting for me outside. Spike was laying on one of the steps. "Wow, no army... Be careful, Fluttershy..." I don't think anything I could say at that point would have been nice.

I walked over to the Brush Pony mare and stallion. I said quietly "This way" and led them around the back of the Castle. They came, but the Brush Pony mare said "Train... faster?"

I just said one word. It was the only word I could say right now, without crying hysterically at what they wanted me to do. And I know we are not supposed to... But, I wanted to live... I wanted us to live... I wanted to actually be able to see Ponyville again... Shyna and everypony else... So many more amazing adventures in friendship yet to be lived and learned, but I had to survive... I don't understand the issues ponies, Equestria might have with... Whatever... I said the only word I could say to anyone right then... "Summer..." I just wanted my sister... I absolutely needed my Sis...

The Brush Pony mare understood immediately and said "Thanks you..." and started to cry softly. I felt exactly the same way.

And Summer and Shysage found us. They were out flying, really scouring the meadows around Ponyville for Cougars as they did their morning flying together. After they landed, I ran over to Summer and cried hard on her shoulder. I had not cried long. Summer said quietly "Sis, we are coming with you." I just cried more.

Chapter 7, More Help

Hi, this is Fluttershy again. Of course, this is mine, too. No army for us...

I cried on my sister's shoulder for a little while. It took that long for me to even relax to where I could function. And Sis and I had not been crying long when the Brush Pony mare came over and cried with us. I think we all knew that Summer's presence meant we probably wouldn't die. I worked hard to try to forget what they wanted, what they told me to do. Only as I did that could I calm down. I think the Brush Pony mare felt the same way. I sensed that she felt a lot calmer with my Sis around. Of course Shysage came with us too. They probably weren't supposed to even be... ...except these two seemed to be the only ones that even wanted to help... me... us...

We did head to the train station next. I explained to the stallion selling tickets that the five of us were on official Equestria business (we were), and they gave us tickets without asking for payment. I don't know how kind I would have been otherwise. The trip to Dodge City, our next destination, would take days on hoof. None of us wanted to be Cougar bait any longer than we had to. The Brush Ponies were a little tense going inside the train, and certainly got some strange looks, but we found an empty car, and sat down. Towards evening, the train pulled into Dodge City. On the way, we had all tried to sleep, and talked little. Well, Summer described Dodge City some, and the Brush Pony mare seemed to know of the place, and said it was a few more days walk to their tribe. When we got out at Dodge City, the Brush Pony mare said quietly "This way" and we just followed the two of them as they headed further West. We nibbled some on the way, but it was clearly more arid out here. We found what we could.

And I had to ask my Sis... That same tune continued softly in the background(1), even after we got off the train in Dodge City. I wondered if she heard anything. Summer just smiled, and we hugged briefly. "Shysage and I really like this one" she said. "And I think, hearing a tune in the background, well it often tells us that something..."

Near dusk, the Brush Pony mare stopped abruptly, and began to weep softly. Without turning around, she said quietly "You go back, probably die, many Cougars..." Us three ponies, Summer, Shysage and I, we were following the two of them. When the mare stopped, we did too. And, after she said what she said, we didn't move or say anything, so the mare, still crying, said it again. "You go back, probably die, many Cougars..."

I could tell, I felt, my Sis... She walked around, then in front of the Brush Pony mare, facing her. Summer said slowly "Friends?" and made her voice go up a little as she said this. It was a question.

The Brush Pony mare put her head down right away, but answered "Friends..."

Summer said quietly "Friends... Not leaving... Even if die... Will do anything... help Brush Pony tribe..." Then Summer hugged the Brush Pony mare tightly; the mare was crying pretty hard by then.

Through her tears, the Brush Pony mare said quietly "Big friend... Thanks you..."

And now, since it seemed like we may actually be able to help and collect some information without dying (probably), I felt the same way Summer did. We were their friends; we wanted to help them. I joined Summer and the Brush Pony mare as they hugged. We would help them any way we could, even if... But I felt now, at least, we had a good chance of gathering the information Princess Celestia had asked... just me... ...to find out.

It was quiet a minute maybe, as Summer, the Brush Pony mare and I hugged and cried softly together. Then Summer quietly said something slowly that surprised even me, just 5 words...

"Friends... rescue... Brush Pony tribe..."

We all cried together for a while after that. I think the Brush Ponies had completely given up hope on any sort of rescue for their tribe. And I was sensing from the mare that time might have been of the essence with any sort of rescue...

What Summer said meant a lot to them. But it also clarified what we were doing. In Summer's mind, we weren't bringing information back. We were bringing the whole Brush Pony tribe, back to Equestria, to safety. I don't think we knew how to do that yet, but that seemed a much more reasonable, fair goal, then "go find out what you can." I was on board with my sister Summer's plan.

An hour later, the five of us were laying on our bellies, fairly close together, in a small cave with a creek running nicely in front. I thought the water was a good idea, but the Brush Pony stallion explained carefully and slowly that our scent would be more difficult to follow around the water. I had never thought of that.

When us ponies woke up the next morning, the Brush Pony mare and stallion were already standing next to each other at the entrance to the cave, eyes and ears up, alert and listening. Waking up next to my Sis... Even since we were both little... I wanted to cry and hug her... a long time. We just couldn't. We were helping friends. That had to come first. When we walked out, everypony got a drink, and we resumed our walk to the West -- by walking down the middle of that same creek for at least a mile. That was slow, and not so easy. The Brush Ponies seemed to do ok, but... my hooves were sore when we were done. But I remembered what the Brush Pony stallion had explained about scents and stuff. They were just being careful, which I appreciated.

After that mile, we walked through woods, then back up to a level meadow, more arid than we were familiar with around Ponyville. The grass was low, and patchy, and there were many areas where just sand peeked through the grass. It was getting dryer here. Well, there seemed to be plenty of broad leaf plants, but I guess grass and oats had a more difficult time.

We kept walking, well past noon, snacking on our way. Water was a little more scarce, but I felt that the Brush Ponies were familair with the area, and knew where to go to find it. Summer, Shysage and I, we were following the two Brush Ponies as they led the way. It was clear they knew where to go.

Maybe mid-afternoon, I began to hear a vague sound, off in the distance. It didn't sound or feel dangerous to me. It was very sporadic at first, but as we continued walking, the sound... it sounded closer, and maybe a little more frequent. They remained just below my thinking even until I had heard them for maybe half an hour. Then, I started really listening. I also worked on placing exactly why I thought I recognized what I was hearing. That took longer than it should have. But it finally dawned on me like a lightning bolt...

"Oh my goodness, Summer..." I said that, then, well sang out something I had to remember from the past, well about the future. That is a long story, too. On our trip to Equestria but in the future, we found amazing animal friends, four huge Black Panthers. They kept us safe, and helped us. But I remembered how I called them, really lovingly singing out to them. Following behind the two Brush Ponies, I sang that same thing out right then... trying not to cry myself... I knew they were out there... The Brush Ponies froze immediately, and turned to look at me. Summer got the hugest grin on her face! And I only sang that out once. I only had to sing it out once.

Between 40 and 50 huge Black Panthers streaked quickly up from the fields and brush from all directions around us, and quickly encircled us, but leaving plenty of room between us and them. Then they all, together, turned to face away from us, then sat down and waited. I felt right away... They were protecting us...

One Panther did not turn around. I think the Brush Ponies knew the Panthers, and the Brush Pony mare walked slowly up to the one Panther still facing us, then bowed to that Panther when she was close. The mare then got up.

The mare said quietly to us ponies "This... Lady Grace..." The mare stopped there, and said slowly as if still practicing, then continued "...Prince... ess of Panther clan." Summer ran quickly up and bowed to Lady Grace right away, and Shysage and I did too. Then we got up and walked back behind the Brush Pony stallion. This was their territory, not Equestria. We were the visitors now.

But, evidently, the Brush Pony mare... Lady Grace began to speak, with a strange collection of mews and such, sounds that Panthers make. The Brush Pony mare understood, she clearly understood what Lady Grace said.

When Lady Grace stopped talking, the Brush Pony mare said something brief back to Lady Grace, probably using the Brush Pony language. Lady Grace said something back to the Brush Pony mare, also brief.

The Brush Pony mare sighed, then she turned slowly around. She bowed her head, and explained, in rough modern Equestrian, for our sakes.

"I... Arianna, Prince-ess of.. Brush Pony tribe...

"Ma-gane is..." Princess Arianna stopped there, as if searching...

Shysage said quietly "Prince..." I think he had already realized...

Princess Arianna continued.

"Ma-gane is Prince... to... me...

"My... foal... Arianna... take Princess... when I die..."

Summer ran up and bowed to Princess Arianna, and Shysage and I did too. I think Summer and Shysage may have already guessed all of this. But Princess Arianna didn't seem real happy with that, us bowing, and motioned us up quickly. Then she said quietly "Friends... not bow..." as she fought back tears. Summer and I took turns hugging Princess Arianna. Our hugs weren't short. Then the three of us again walked back behind Prince Ma-gane, and waited.

Princess Arianna turned to face Lady Grace again. Well, I don't know a lot about Panthers, but it looked to me like Lady Grace started crying. I could see the tears, anyway. Lady Grace motioned for Princess Arianna to step back some, which she did. Lady Grace said something quietly to Princess Arianna, and Princess Arianna tried to tell us.

Princess Arianna asked a question, first. "What... name... pictures... sleep?"

"Princess Arianna, that is a dream..." I said, then I said just the word again, "dream", and Princess Arianna repeated that word. Then Prince Ma-gane did as well.

Princess Arianna then explained what Lady Grace had told her. "Lady Grace had dream... very... ..import-ant." Princess Arianna explained this, then stopped and turned around again, to face Lady Grace.

Lady Grace used one of her claws to draw a large circle in the sand. Lady Grace then added three cryptic looking characters inside that circle. We could all see them clearly; the Sun was low in the West, and the ruts in the sand as Lady Grace drew with her claw were very pronounced. I didn't recognize any of the letters though.

Using the same claw, Lady Grace pointed to, poked her claw down into the first character, then she spoke to Princess Arianna.

Princess Arianna worked on explaining to us what Lady Grace said, from her dream, but Princess Arianna did not turn around to face us as she did. Facing Lady Grace, looking at that strange letter, she spoke to us. Princess Arianna slowly explained the first letter Lady Grace had written, based on what Lady Grace said.

"Hey... Hey-su-key-os... Deep... quiet one... Sensitive... Friend of Panthers..."

I don't know how this got into Lady Grace's dream, but I knew that was me. I absolutely knew that was me... I walked slowly forward, and stood behind Princess Arianna, facing Lady Grace, sat down, then put my head down.

I think this made Lady Grace cry a little more. And all 40 or so Panthers now in a circle around us, started making the same mmew sound. I have no clue what that meant.

Lady Grace moved her claw to the middle letter, then spoke softly. Princess Arianna explained, although she began to cry softly, too. I think she was realizing...

"Prow... Prow-tase... Great... great... great power... in also quiet... one..."

I would have said something, but Summer was already walking slowly to me. She surely knew too, who the Prow-tase was, Summer herself. She walked up next to me, stopped, then sat like I was, and put her head down like mine.

Lady Grace was having trouble even mewing, I think. I could see the tears quickly fall... And the chorus of mewing around us became louder. Still, Lady Grace moved her claw to the third strange letter. With great difficulty, it sounded like, she explained to Princess Arianna what the last character meant. Then Lady Grace fell to the ground and cried.

Princess Arianna turned to face us. I was pretty sure she knew Summer and I were sitting behind her, the Hey-su-key-os and the Prow-tase from Lady Grace's dream. Princess Arianna's head was down, and she was crying too. Princess Arianna asked a question next; again, I guess she didn't know the word... "What... hold front... protect?"

Before Princess Arianna was even done, Summer burst into choking, deep crying... I answered for Summer. The word was Shield... It was Shysage... And only Summer could truly understand the significance of that name...

Princess Arianna explained as Shysage, crying himself, walked up and sat next to his Mare...

"Therion... Shield... to Prow-tase..."

Lady Grace's dream... The Hey-su-key-os (me) the Prow-tase (Summer), and the Therion (Shysage)... Princess Arianna had brought the three of us to Lady Grace, soon after she had that dream...

As 40 or so Black Panthers cried, Lady Grace only spoke one more time, and Princess Arianna explained through her tears...

"Dream true... Very good... or... very bad..."

We all cried together. I knew which of the two it would be... I think we all knew...

Author's Note

Unless otherwise noted, the music flowing in the background for this entire story is "A New Horizon - Tavnazian Archipelago" from the Original Soundtrack for the "Chains of Promethia" expansion for "Final Fantasy XI", and this all is copyright by Square Enix.

Chapter 8, Going In

Fluttershy again, sorry... I hope that is ok.

Surrounded by 40 or more huge Black Panthers, Brush Ponies Princess Arianna, Prince Ma-gane, along with Summer, Shysage and I, we slept out in the field, right there, just like that.

The next morning, when us Equestria ponies woke up, the Brush Ponies and Panthers were already awake and alert. Princess Arianna said quietly "Lady Grace said... Cougars know we... here. Know we... coming. Say we... food."

Summer answered quietly. "We won't die. They will." Then she hugged Princess Arianna. "Friend" Summer said quietly, and they cried together briefly.

And I also noticed that the Panthers around us, there were more. Well, we still had no clue how many Cougars we would face. I think the Brush Ponies had some inkling though.

And I guess, something else needed to be taken care of before we started. I was pretty sure it was Lady Grace that left the circle, and walked maybe 50 feet farther to the West, then stopped, and turned to face us. None of the other panthers moved. But I did feel...

Lady Grace clearly called another Panther out from the circle with a mewing voice, and that Panther slowly walked out to Lady Grace, then turned around and sat. Lady Grace said something to Princess Arianna, then Lady Grace returned to the circle. I could tell that Princess Arianna simply didn't know how to explain what she had heard. But I guess...

Summer got up quickly, and looked at the other Panther, now standing by herself some 50 feet away. The lone Panther put her head slightly up, eyes closed, and cried... Summer walked slowly out, then ran quickly... Panther and Pony were hugging, crying...

Princess Arianna said quietly to me "That Rosa... Dream... Rose... be... Rosa's... foal..." That made me cry, too... On our trip to future Equestia, Summer befriended Rose, a fighter of a Panther... Summer and that Panther fought together, side by side... While Summer was the Phantom Alicorn, Rose seemed to instantly know what Summer wanted, needed, and did that... Rose ultimately gave her life fighting Phantasma with Summer, fighting for Equestria. I know Rose's death really hurt Summer. But now, Summer and Rose's mom were crying together, hugging together... A while later, Summer walked back to the circle, and up to us; me, Shysage... Rosa followed her. Summer expected that. That was just the way it would be. She and Shysage fussed over Rosa briefly, then Summer said quietly to Princess Arianna "Ready to go..."

With a large group of Panthers around us, we made our way West again, towards the Brush Pony tribe. We walked straight now; there was really no need for detours or stealth. No Cougar would dare try anything dumb. Over the course of the day, I somehow ended up with a Panther friend too. Princess Arianna told me it was Rosa's sister; her name was 'Morning' if I heard right. That made our trip even more enjoyable. And it must have looked strange, three ponies walking with two Panthers in between us. Those Panthers were bigger than us!

On the way, Lady Grace mewed something to Princess Arianna, and she tried to explain to us. It came slowly out like this. "Panthers... little help... so many Cougars..." Well, ok then. This meant that the Panthers were just protecting us until we could rescue the Brush Ponies. I realized too that, should we fail, our Panther friends would probably all die too.

I mentioned that to Summer. She smiled, then said resolutely "We are not going to fail..." then "Isn't that right precious Rosa?" Rosa mewed back in agreement, and I really felt that Summer wished she was a people so she could use her hands to stroke, to itch Rosa's head. Rosa didn't seem to mind anyway.

We walked most of that day, to the West, towards the Brush Pony tribe. We walked at a fairly brisk pace. This was complicated by the fact it seemed like we were walking up a slow but continual hill. I couldn't see any huge mointain off in the distance. It didn't make much difference. We were following. We were guests here. Hopefully, we wouldn't be food.

That evening was like our last one; we slept under the stars surrounded by many Panthers. I realized that a few of them stayed awake, and were probably keeping watch. I also heard a new sound occasionally, out in the meadow, in the grass, the brush far away from us. Princess Arianna said quietly "Cougars... gathering..." We managed to sleep though.

The next morning, I think we all felt some urgency, and we started our walk early, as the Sun had just barely cleared the small trees off in the East. After walking for maybe 20 minutes, Lady Grace mewed quietly to Princess Arianna, and she explained. "Many Cougars following now..." She didn't really need to say anything more. We would bring the Brush Ponies out, or we would all be food.

And I guess we were already very close. After maybe two hours of walking, we started down some form of ramp, I think. It was maybe 100 feet wide, but a long down-hill stretch. Cliffs rose higher and higher on either side of the ramp as we continued walking, down the ramp. It was easy to see that the cliffs were cluttered with Cougars. They were making a strange noise. Lady Grace mewed to Princess Arianna, and she explained. "Cougars all laugh, say 'Food... Food... Food...' " Well their sound even sounded mean... it felt mean...

We kept walking. We were most of the way to the bottom of the ramp when Shysage gasped. He said quietly to Summer "This place... It is a natural depression surrounded by cliffs. I think we just came down the only entrance... If the Brush Ponies are in here, they are trapped... The Cougars are just farming them for food, killing Brush Ponies when they are hungry..."

Well, I'm not sure how... Ma-gane said quietly, but clearly grimly "Yess..."

Still, Shysage turned around and looked. "We will need to bring the Brush-- " He stopped right there. "Summer, the entire ramp that we just came down... It is full of Cougars..."

My sis turned to look, then answered quietly "Fighting them on that ramp will be a lot easier..." I guessed we would see. This really didn't look good even to me. And the Panthers were right; their number was a mere handful compared to the thousands of Cougars, on the ramp, lining the cliffs nearby... Their laughter was loud, and now echoed down the ramp...

As the ramp continued down at a slower angle, the cliff along the sides faced away, to the right, to the left. We were in what Shysage called the natural depression. Shysage was watching the Cougars. "Summer, they all stopped at the base of the ramp. I think they will wait for us to try to pass through."

Princess Arianna said quietly "Coun... Counsel time now..." Princess Arianna and Prince Ma-gane were leading us down to the center, which was the lowest spot. That made sense. It was likely that Princess Arianna would call together all the Brush Ponies, and gather them for our departure. I hoped this might be over soon. Even with Summer here, the odds seemed rather high.

Maybe a third of the way to the center, Lady Grace mewed something, and the Panthers all moved aside and let us pass. Then they just formed a big group behind us, and stood still, probably standing their ground if they needed to. Our Panther friends would go no further. Rosa and her sister did not come with us either. The Panthers had risked, were risking their lives to get us to the Brush Ponies safely. That task was complete. Now, they were depending on us to rescue them as well.

We were friends of the Brush Ponies. We were the Panther's friends too. We would... Summer would rescue everypony, or we would all die trying.

Chapter 9, Traitor from Within

Well, its either me, Fluttershy, or... nevermind... Princess Celestia sent me here to gather information. Well, it was clear to me, to us, that our Brush Pony friends needed more, a lot more. They needed us to rescue them from the Cougars holding them hostage. The Cougars had, in fact, already sealed off the only path in or out, behind us. So I guess, we were trapped, too.

Our Panther friends had already stopped maybe a third of the way down to the lowest, center spot in this natural depression, Shysage called it. That low spot was evidently where Princess Arianna would meet with the Brush Pony tribe, and gather them. We were walking there; I could already see that clearing, far up ahead, well down hill from us. And, from that single ramp down through the cliff, we were walking on a broad, well worn path heading towards the center. The Brush Ponies probably made this path, but now it surely made life easier for hungry Cougars...

I had already noticed all around us that the broad-leaf plants, bushes really, that the Brush Ponies seemed to prefer, they thickly covered the ground all around us, all over this natural bowl, up to the cliffs around the edge. There was plenty of food for the Brush Ponies; maybe that was why they settled here to begin with. As we walked to the center, past this blanket of brush, an increasing number of Brush Ponies saw us, ran out to us seemingly out of nowhere, and followed us down to the center. I was pretty sure they all recognized Princess Arianna. A growing group of Brush Ponies walked behind us.

As I was thinking this, Prince Ma-Gane said quietly "Coun-cil always on cliffs... Then Cougars... come..."

Summer asked quietly "How long?"

I guess Princess Arianna understood Summer's meaning. She said, also grimly "Six... ten moons ago, Cougars cut off path..." Princess Arianna was trying not to cry. "Cougars... hungry... Run down... Bite foal neck... Carry away... screaming... Many foals die..." Of course Cougars would go after them...

Shysage said quietly "5 years... of terror and death... This is long overdue..."

I know my sister... And I could feel... She was... She would do anything she needed in order to stop this senseless slaughter, of helpless foals, no less...

As we walked, we could more easily see the wide clearing, a circle of no bushes in the center. We were walking straight for that, of course. The closer we got, we noticed a lot of dust getting kicked up. We found out why as hundreds of Brush Ponies streamed into that barely grassy area in the center. Word must have spread quickly. The Brush Ponies opened up a path for us as we walked directly to the center. There was a small patch of exposed rock, maybe a few inches high, right in the center. The Brush Ponies all stood clear of that rock. Well, that small rock was probably a far cry from council time on the cliff. We walked up to that patch of rock. Princess Arianna said quietly "Ma-gane talk... I talk... pony." Prince Ma-gane would address the Brush Ponies and Princess Arianna would tell us what was being said.

Prince Ma-gane walked carefully up on that flat rock, and it was instantly quiet. After standing motionless briefly, Prince Ma-gane raised his head slightly, closed his eyes, then said something. It was very short, but Ma-gane's voice bellowed loudly. Every Brush Pony could easily hear him. Princess Arianna said to us ponies simply "Now... time... go..."

One fairly big Brush Pony stallion walked quickly out of the sea of Brush Ponies, and stopped in front of Prince Ma-gane. This stallion talked too, and his voice was also pretty loud. What he said didn't take very long either. I sensed disgust wash quickly through Princess Arianna... "It... Naballa. He say... Ma-gane crazy." It seemed, well I felt... Many other Brush Ponies didn't like this Naballa stallion. Well, he sensed, he felt, really mean to me. His eyes...

Still on the rock, Prince Ma-gane spoke again, and Princess Arianna translated for us. "Lost many... foals... Need... leave... now..." I think most of the Brush Ponies agreed with this.

Naballa said quickly, loudly, and Princess Arianna translated as she frowned "Cougars eat... us... now..."

Well, this Naballa was confronting Ma-gane, and in front of the entire Brush Pony tribe. I did not like the way this was going. Besides, now was just a really bad time for this. In the face of all that was going on...

Prince Ma-gane was trying to be patient, I think, and spoke again. He talked a little longer. Even before Princess Arianna started to translate, I heard one word, very distinctly, in what Prince Ma-gane said...

It was the word... "Shila"...

Naballa didn't even wait, and yelled loudly, actually interrupted what Prince Magane was saying, and cut him off. What Naballa said, yelled, well I could tell it wasn't nice based on the way Naballa said it, the anger in his eyes... And many of the Brush Ponies gasped at what Naballa said. Princess Arianna translated what Naballa yelled, slowly and again with disgust "Old... writing... Old... stallion..." The Brush Ponies around the circle were not happy at all with Naballa, and began to stomp one of their front hooves to the ground to show it.

Naballa said something loudly, and the Brush Ponies immediately were quiet, but still not very happy, I felt. He probably yelled 'silence' or something. Then Naballa said something else, a little longer, but just to Prince Ma-gane, I think. There was fury in Naballa's eyes... He put his head down, horns forward, then dug one of his front hooves into the sand...

Princess Arianna was imediately beside herself... Crying loudly...

"He has challenged... Ma-gane must fight... for me... ...to take me... ...so Naballa rule Brush Ponies..." Princess Arianna cried harder, crying out... "Naballa is fool... Don't want... Want Ma-gane... Good prince... Shield... Princess... Only want Ma-gane..." then after a brief delay "...can't stop this..." Princess Arianna looked away and closed her eyes tightly as she fell to the ground and started crying loudly, and just said over and over to us ponies "...can't stop this... ...can't stop this... ...can't stop this..."

Well, I guess Shysage hoped he could; he immediately ran over and stood right next to Prince Ma-gane on that rock, facing Naballa. I don't think Shysage was very happy with this Naballa either. Shysage said loudly "Friend."

And I should have expected this... Even I heard the word "Shila" in what Prince Ma-gane started to say... Summer heard her name... With all eyes on Shysage, it only took my sister maybe five seconds... to change... to her people form... her huge white wings... her large pearl-white Unicorn horn... And that gut-wrenching, loud rumbling sound...

The Brush Ponies around the circle gasped... some shrieked... They knew who this was right away, too... They bowed down on their front legs, put their heads down, and said quietly "Shila..." But with most of the Brush Ponies saying that, it was pretty loud... And even in the Brush Pony language, this was the exact word...

My sister Summer, the Phantom Alicorn, the Shila, walked quickly over to and in front of Naballa, and shouted "NO!" Naballa backed up with a start when she yelled that. His eyes were quickly huge... Then Summer arched her wings menacingly forward, walked closer to Naballa and shouted again "NO... NO... NO... NO... NO..." Naballa was on his belly on the ground in fear when she was done saying that...

Summer didn't move for a minute maybe. Then she said loudly, well as loudly as she could "Princess Arianna, speak for me to your tribe."

Summer spoke in short phrases, so Princess Arianna could say it in Brush Pony to the rest of the Brush Pony tribe. That is how this part went.

...

"COUGARS KILL...

...

"BRUSH PONIES NOT KILL...

...

"THIS FIGHTING...

"THIS KILLING...

...

"TO TAKE MARE...

...

"NO MORE!!!

...

"NO MORE!!!

...

"NO MORE!!!"

...

Then Summer glared at Naballa for a minute more maybe. He had enough sense to get up and run away, melting into the crowd of Brush Ponies.

Summer then turned around, walked over and bowed to Prince Ma-Gane who was trying to not cry. Then she bowed to Princess Arianna, who was crying. Then Summer, the Phantom Alicorn, the Shila... She knelt down and hugged the Brush Pony Princess tightly for a minute at least.

Summer said quietly to Princess Arianna "Tell tribe... time to go..."

Chapter 10, Remember

It's me, Fluttershy again. I... was there... I saw... this...

Well, it was time to go. We were going to rescue the Brush Ponies, or we would all die trying. The only hurdle in our path was the thousands of Cougars now standing and waiting at the only exit from this natural depression, which had become the Brush Ponies' prison of terror and death.

Summer stayed in her Phantom Alicorn form. She was a people; well she looked just like the people in the Equestria Girls world, and walked on two legs like they do. As the Phantom Alicorn, she had huge White wings and a pearl White Unicorn horn. Well, that loud, low rumbling sound was always a part of this, too. Summer was the "Shila" (the "i" sound is long), the deliverer. We hoped that would be the case today, too.

Walking with us, Summer led the Brush Ponies slowly back up the broad path we had come down maybe an hour ago. We were on our way up to the ramp, and away, hopefully to freedom. There were a few foals in this group. We took our time. Princess Arianna and Prince Ma-gane walked together with Summer next to Princess Arianna. Shysage asked me to walk next to my sister, and he walked next to Prince Ma-gane. I knew why; even as we rescued them, we were honoring the Brush Pony leaders. Well, I walked next to my Sis. Can I say that was nice?

Maybe half an hour later, we were most of the way to the base of the ramp, and approached the small band of Panthers that had risked, and were risking everything to help us rescue the Brush Ponies. Our amazing Panther friends were now depending on us to rescue them as well. My Sis asked us to stop. She walked maybe 30 feet beyond our group; the Phantom Alicorn, she then knelt down and bowed to our Panther friends. Lady Grace walked over, crying, and Summer hugged her right away. Lady Grace said quietly "Shila..." Even in the Panther language, that was the word... Then Lady Grace mewed something, and Princess Arianna translated. "Shila come... Dream... very good..." Summer and Lady Grace cried together for a little while.

After hugging Lady Grace as the Phantom Alicorn, Summer said to Princess Arianna "Ask Panthers to protect back?" The slowest Brush Ponies, the young, the foals were in the back. But this was a question, and Princess Arianna understood. The Panthers also understood, and stepped aside to let us pass. Summer wasn't done. "Rosa" she called out lovingly. Rosa was immediately at her side, and really didn't seem to care Summer was a bigger, noisy people with huge wings and a large Unicorn horn right now. Summer fussed over Rosa with her hands briefly, itching behind Rosa's ears. Well, my Panther friend came back to me too. I didn't mind.

We resumed our walk slightly uphill towards the sea of Cougars waiting for us on the ramp. As we walked slowly towards the ramp, Princess Arianna spoke quietly, answering a question we had not even thought. Well, it was clear the Cougars probably guarded this ramp carefully, even before we came.

"Ma-gane found... small... path... up... rocks... Led me... Arianna... Half up, Arianna very scared, cried... Then we finished... Ran very fast... away... to Pony land... Cougars followed us... Found in grass... Sum... mer rescued..."

Princess Arianna was crying loudly by then, and she and Summer; well Summer was still a people, still the Phantom Alicorn, but it didn't matter. The two of them hugged and cried together a little while. Through her tears, Princess Arianna said quietly...

"Old writing... Time... great fear... Shila come..."

My Sis... Also through tears, she said back, quietly "Shila... Brush Pony big friend..."

We had stopped while Summer and Princess Arianna cried together. Then we began walking towards the ramp again. The Cougars really completely covered the ramp for some distance from the edge of the cliff face. The closer we walked... Well, there were a lot of Cougars. And I guess, as I thought about this... I had, I felt no compassion for these beasts. I like animals, and can befriend most, but not Cougars. All they seem to know is anger and blood-lust. They bow to no leader, and all act on the same impulse. If I tried to befriend one, I would be dead before I even got close. It just seemed like killing was all they knew, all they wanted. Kill, then eat... Whatever my Sis, Summer Rain, the Phantom Alicorn, whatever she would do to them... There simply was no other option. If they didn't die we would, even trying to rescue the largely helpless Brush Pony tribe. And they had certainly killed so many Brush Ponies already...

We walked to within maybe 500 feet of the sea of Cougars covering the ramp, extending most of the way up. Summer, the Shila, she stopped, so we did too. The Shila said we should stay right where we were. Of course, we did.

Summer said softly to Rosa "Walk towards them 200 feet, then stop. Protect, but don't kill." I... Nopony translated for Rosa or anything. Rosa seemed to know, Rosa did exactly what Summer asked, and just walked almost half the distance between the Brush Ponies and the leading edge of the Cougars at the base of the ramp. Rosa just stood there near the center of that distance, all by herself.

I could tell... I could feel... The Cougars were laughing scornfully... loudly... A single Panther would confront them? A lone Cougar ran quickly out to face Rosa. That Cougar immediately began to try to fight with Rosa. Just like Summer asked, Rosa defended herself, and batted the Cougar away a number of times with her huge paws. But the Cougar didn't let up, growled loudly, and lunged at Rosa repeatedly. The rest of the Cougars all laughed louder.

Summer was quickly in the air, but flew carefully maybe 100 feet over the Cougars, 100 feet beyond the leading edge of the Cougars; she was directly over those Cougars closest to the Brush Ponies. She was about 100 feet high as well, and hovered there as she stroked her powerful wings. She was just about in the center of that ramp. The Cougars just ignored this flying thing, and kept laughing. I wondered if they were laughing at Rosa. It was loud...

A second Cougar ran out to help torment Rosa. Rosa did her best...

I watched this... Summer, the Shila, right where she was in the air like that, she slowly drew her right hand far to her left...

A third Cougar ran out and circled Rosa, growling, looking for an opportunity...

Summer motioned, slapped her right hand down and around to her right. As she did that, the shield from her right hand raked viciously, down the left side of the cliff face, across the Cougars on the ramp, then harshly up the cliff on the other side. Summer... We were maybe 500 feet away, and we all felt the ground below us rumble and quiver, as her shield forced its way brutally to the ground, crushing everything in it's path. A bunch of the rocks on the cliffs on either side flew high into the air, and then crashed loudly down, dislodged by the force of Summer's shield. Cougars flew off the cliff too, and fell to the ground.

The Cougar's scornful laughter stopped...

It was deathly quiet for maybe a minute after that, as the dust slowly settled, and a few more rocks crashed down...

Few of the Cougars in that first 200 feet could even move. Most were dead or dying as they lay on the ground...

Thirty seconds later, the Cougars were crying... They were crying out... loudly... The three Cougars that were tormenting Rosa ran quickly away from Rosa, back up the ramp, over and past fallen Cougars, and just kept running...

My sister just hovered there, wings pumping, and waited to see what would happen next.

What happened next; Princess Arianna said loudly, but carefully "Sum... mer..."

Without turning away from the sea of remaining Cougars, Summer said "Yes, Princess?"

Princess Arianna said slowly "Lady Grace say Cougars crying out 'Remember... Remember... Shila... No food...' " Maybe, somehow... A previous encounter with the Shila had somehow embedded itself in the collective consciousness of the Cougar race... That would have been over a thousand years ago now... But, they remembered... Their will to fight was gone...

Terrified, the Cougars nearby that could, began working on carefully pulling hurt, dying, or dead Cougars to the side, out of our path. They were opening a way for us... The rest of the Cougars ran quickly up the ramp and disappeared.

Summer didn't move, and stayed in the air right where she was. She said quietly to Princess Arianna "Princess, lead your tribe, the Brush Ponies, to freedom..." I doubt that Princess Arianna had learned the word "freedom" yet, but she was probably realizing... The Brush Ponies followed their Prince and Princess to the ramp, then up. As the Panthers in the back walked under her, only then did Summer fly above the Panthers in the back, up the ramp, but ready, just in case... By then, no Cougar that could move was even in sight. And Rosa was waiting on the ground, right below Summer, until she landed.

It was early afternoon. Princess Arianna led the Brush Pony tribe East... to Freedom... to Safety... to Equestria...

Chapter 11, Minor Details

It's me, Fluttershy... This is my chapter too...

After bringing the Brush Ponies out, Rosa was waiting for Summer as she landed, but Shysage and I were too. Summer and Shysage cried together for a little while, Summer as a people, kneeling and tightly hugging Shysage's pony neck. Things like this affected both of them, and Shysage really is Summer's shield. It is hard to even understand how desparately close this Stallion and Mare are bonded together... And, I guess Princess Arianna and Prince Ma-gane stopped the Brush Ponies as Summer cried with Shysage. This seemed only right. And Summer motioned for me... The three of us, the Hey-su-key-os (me) the Prow-tase (Summer), and the Therion (Shysage) from Lady Grace's dream, we hugged and cried together for a little while. The Brush Ponies were free...

Summer told Princess Arianna we should go, so we all started walking again, heading East, away from the Brush Pony's prison of fear and terror. Most of the Brush Ponies were crying softly, too. What had just happened; what we, what Summer had just done... That meant a lot to them. They were free. Soon they would be under Equestria's protection, too.

My Panther friend was back at my side, and walked next to me. Summer was between Rosa and Shysage. She was just a people now, and had an arm around the neck of both as they walked together. And I felt bad right away... Summer's people clothes were so worn, with rips and tears... We really should get our Equestria Girls friends to see if... Wait... Nevermind... Well, Panthers, Brush Ponies; they wouldn't even notice, or care. But, I just felt bad...

The rest of the Panthers were spread out around the Brush Ponies as they walked behind their Prince and Princess. There was no wandering off, no eating... I think everypony just wanted away. And maybe I felt... The Brush Ponies just wanted safety, to be able to live without fear, not having to fear for their lives, for their foal's lives... After all they had been through, hopefully Equestria would guarantee them that.

We walked straight East, at a pretty good walk, all that afternoon, and well into the evening. Then Prince Ma-gane stopped the Brush Ponies, and had them lay down right where they were. Panthers spread carefully around us; that is how we slept that night. Well, the Brush Ponies cried softly together for hours. Summer only then changed back into a pony, and slept on her belly with me on one side, and Shysage on her other side, with two huge Panthers next to us. Well, that was just nice...

Princess Arianna woke us ponies up the next morning, and I think maybe Summer had some idea right away. The Brush Ponies and Panthers were all up, and probably waiting for us. But Lady Grace was standing next to Princess Arianna. Summer began to weep softly, and changed immediately into a people, then into the Shila. While Princess Arianna was still trying to decide how to say what she wanted, the Shila and Lady Grace were already hugging, crying...

Princess Arianna said quietly "Panther clan... stop... here..." I understood right away too. This was at about the same spot I started to hear the Panthers yesterday. Evidently, they would come no further, no closer to Equestria. That made me cry with my Panther friend, too. But I guess the rest of the Panthers were making the same mmew crying sound, too.

Still crying, now with both Lady Grace and Rosa, Summer asked Princess Arianna to find out how much longer before the Panthers could come into Equestria. That was a very good question, and Lady Grace's answer, through Princess Arianna was... just... sobering...

"eight... ten moons... hard times... Pony land... Panthers come..."

We cried together some more... Then... as quickly as they had come to us at first... our Panther friends disappeared into the brush and grass, and were gone...

Princess Arianna, Summer and I hugged and cried together a while longer, then we began walking East again. Prince Ma-gane and Princess Arianna were up front, and the Brush Ponies followed their leaders as we resumed our journey. Summer (having changed back into a pony) was next to Princess Arianna, and I walked next to Summer. Shysage walked next to Prince Ma-gane. I think they might have talked some on the way. And Summer and Princess Arianna talked some too. I guess Dodge City was our next destination. From there we would need to get word to Princess Twilight about Equestria's leadership meeting somewhere with the whole Brush Pony tribe, and arranging for the Brush Ponies to settle in Equestria. I have no idea what all that might involve. Still, I smiled at that. Maybe Summer, Shysage and I could fly... Maybe such a trip would give me some more time with my Sis... We weren't supposed to be... Well, I could hope... These last few days, though filled with tension and turmoil, with Summer close... I enjoyed being with my Sis a lot...

I had not even finished that thought... Princess Arianna and Prince Ma-gane, stopped abruptly. Their ears went quickly up, and they looked intently straight ahead. Princess Arianna said something, and the Brush Ponies all stopped. Then she said quietly "Many... animals... ahead..." I think Summer felt all that immediately. The last thing we needed now was more Cougars, even a small handful... And without our Panther friends... Summer was quickly a people with her Cutie Mark spun up. The Shila was ready. She took to the air, and flew ahead to see what it was.

Summer didn't fly very far. Maybe 100 feet ahead, she stopped, slowly landed, turned back into her markless, Blue pony form, and sat down, then hung her head. She quietly called Shysage, who asked the Brush Ponies to stay here for now. I think he guessed...

And, the very minute Summer landed, that tune that had followed us in the background, since the Brush Ponies first came, it abruptly stopped...

The "many animals" was a large force of Equestria's Guards, led by Shining Armor of course. Those at the front formed a long line, over a hundred feet across. They were walking towards us, but stopped when they saw Summer land. Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight were in the middle of that long line of Guards.

What I saw next, made me cry loudly... Summer and Shysage, as ponies, crawled slowly to within 100 feet of Princess Celestia. They were both crying too... And, by the way, crawling as a pony is excruciating... But I heard Summer say this...

"We are sorry... We are sorry for what... what we may have done... what ponies... said... What we... We are just... sorry..."

That was all my sister could say, then she and Shysage, still crying, turned and crawled to the left, slowly, along the front line of Equestria's Guards, off into the brush, and disappeared. They kept crawling; it was a little while before I could not hear them crying... Well, I was crying too, and hard, like I said... This seemed so... Trying to do the right thing... Trying to be real friends... Actually treasuring the magic of friendship... Then this... For a while, all I could do was cry...

Chapter 12, Welcoming a Tribe

It's me, Fluttershy, again. I think this is my last chapter, anyway. And, I don't know if they will ever let me do another one...

After my Sis, as the Phantom Alicorn, as the Shila, the deliverer, had amazingly rescued both the Brush Ponies and all our Panther friends, from thousands of Cougars; she and Shysage... reduced to groveling... crawling off into the brush... because... I don't know and... I'm not allowed... I just cried...

The Brush Pony Princess Arianna hugged me, and cried with me, too. The ponies from Equestria, still standing in a line facing us, maybe 200 feet away... Nopony moved, or said anything... Well, I heard both Ariel and Shyna crying softly... For a while, nopony moved at all...

I guess Princess Arianna's foal could wait no longer, and ran the 200 feet to her mom and dad. As a family, Prince Ma-gane, Princess Arianna and their foal Arianna hugged and cried together briefly. The foal soon calmed down though, and, with eyes wide said excitedly, in modern Equestrian "Wow, you brought everypony!" Princess Arianna hugged her foal again, brushing back tears.

Princess Arianna knew things had to happen... She spoke something to the Brush Ponies, then walked slowly most of the distance over to Princess Twilight, and the brush ponies all slowly followed their Princess. Princess Arianna stopped most of the way, stopped the Brush Ponies right there, and said something else, and the entire Brush Pony tribe all bowed on their front legs, put their heads down. Princess Arianna, along with Prince Ma-gane, and little Arianna, their cute foal, the three of them walked the rest of the distance to Princess Twilight, then the three of them bowed to her.

Princess Twilight motioned them up right away. The rest of the Brush Ponies stayed bowing. I think Princess Arianna felt this was best. Next, Princess Arianna said quietly to Princess Twilight "I am Arianna, Prince-ess of the Brush Pony tribe. Thanks you... for rescuing... Brush Ponies..." Then the Brush Pony family all bowed again.

These words surely caught Princess Twilight off guard, and Princess Celestia was right next to Princess Twilight! And, from the looks of this army, maybe they hoped to do the rescuing. (But I didn't see near enough guards for that.) After a brief delay, Princess Twilight said quietly "Princess Arianna, this is Princess Celestia, ruler of all Equestria. She will be the Princess to set things... in... order..." Both Princesses bowed to Princess Celestia.

Well, I guess Princess Celestia took over, and motioned them up right away, but she was deep in thought or something for a little while. Well, she finally... slowly... maybe thoughtfully... And, this doesn't show here, but, after Princess Celestia said the first sentence, Princess Arianna had the Brush Ponies all up, then worked at telling the Brush Ponies what Princess Celestia said. Princess Celestia didn't seem very comfortable with that, having to stop and such. Mildred was next to Princess Celestia writing everything down, and she let me have a copy of the exact wording to include here.

"Princess Arianna, Prince Ma-gane, Let me welcome you and your ponies to the realm of Equestria. We are glad to have your tribe among us. It seems the Cougars have been somewhat troublesome to you of late, and we will certainly work to protect both you and the rest of Equestria from these beasts.

"Princess Twilight has indicated that you will probably appreciate a new home here among us. We have identified a vast meadow far to the East of our capitol, with plenty of the brush you seem to prefer, and where the Cougars should be less of a problem. We propose that your tribe settles there. Equestria's Guard force is prepared to escort you safely to that area."

Princess Celestia sighed here. "We will also require that you learn and carefully obey the rules and laws that are in place here in Equestria, along with any additional laws that the leadership of Equestria decides are necessary for the well-being of our ponies. This should not be a problem. Most of these regulations are rooted both in common good sense along with simple consideration for the ponies around you. For may years, many centuries, we had no need for the volumes of laws we now seem to require. But your tribe, each Brush Pony will need to learn and obey these just like every other pony in Equestria.

"I understand from Princess Twilight, that your language is different from ours. That is a bridge that you will need to cross. While we do not seek to diminish who the Brush Ponies are as a tribe, we cannot have a kindgom within a kingdom. Around Equestria's ponies, you will need to be able to communicate; we want you to talk the way we do around us, in part to show your gratitude for the rights and privileges you will enjoy here in Equestria.

"Beyond that, I can joyfully say welcome to Equestria!"

Princess Arianna, Prince Ma-gane and their cute foal again bowed to Princess Celestia, and the whole Brush Pony tribe bowed again as well. Princess Arianna said quietly "Thanks you, Prince-ess." Then everypony got back up. Little Arianna said excitedly "Yippee!" Maybe she had been around Pinkie Pie while we were gone. Shining Armor walked over, and introduced himself, then asked that the Brush Pony leaders follow him, and have their tribe follow him as well. As they headed East, the Guards formed a perimeter around the Brush Ponies, and kept around them as they travelled. That huge group headed off together to the East.

I was still 200 feet away from all of this, crying quietly... by myself... And, as soon as they didn't think it would cause problems, both Shyna and Ariel ran over to me, also crying softly. When I saw Princess Celestia walking over to me, I tried to stop crying, for a little while anyway. She walked calmly over to me, hugged me, then said this.

"Thank you, Fluttershy, for your role in all of this. I was fairly confident that you would be able to take care of this task. The Brush Ponies are safe now, and we look forward to having them in our midst."

Well, I didn't say what I really wanted to say. Ariel, Shyna and I were still sniffling, but I... put my head down and said quietly "You are welcome, Princess Celestia. I was glad to be able to help the Brush Ponies, and I am glad they are finally safe." I meant that much, anyway.

Princess Celestia smiled.

Less than 5 minutes later, Princess Twilight along with Filia and Fiona got in one Air Coach, and were no doubt on their way to Ponyville. Princess Celestia got in the other Air Coach, and was probably on her way back to Canterlot.

That left just me, Ariel and Shyna... standing there... All we could do was cry... loudly... That whole thing... And now everypony else was gone... We cried for a while. It was getting dark, but I didn't care. After what I just had to watch... After everything that had... Then I thought I was hearing things...

Summer walked up... "Oh, Sis..."

I just collapsed... Summer and I hugged tightly and cried together, we all cried together for hours... Shysage, Summer, Ariel, Shyna and I... My family... We spent the night right there, and flew calmly back to Ponyville together over the next few days...

I love my Sis...

Chapter 13, Wrap Up

Hi, this is Princess Twilight again. This was a very fun account for me to work on! And, yes, Fluttershy's help was invaluable.

Well, the Brush Ponies are now calmly settled, living in a vast forest East of Canterlot. Princess Celestia called it a meadow, and that fits too. It is not a thick, dense forest like the Everfree, and the trees, most of them, are not very tall. Still, there are plenty of bushes there. The Brush Ponies seem to prefer that for both food and shelter, and that seems to be working out fine. My brother Shining Armor actually had a garrison built there, and the safety of the Brush Ponies is well cared for. And I guess that Shining Armor and Prince Ma-gane, they are good friends now. Overall, I think the Brush Ponies can relax. Just reading some of Fluttershy's entries; it sounds like the Brush Ponies absolutely needed to be rescued from those vicious beasts. Equestria's leadership has some concerns about how the Brush Ponies will deal with the coming Winter; it is late Fall right now, and pretty cold. We just don't know how Winter here will compare with what they are used to. From what Fluttershy decribed, the large, low area they lived in for a long time; the cliffs around the rim probably sheltered them from the wind to some degree. I think we, Equestria is ready to build many shelters at least, for the Brush Ponies should that be required. But the Brush Ponies are safe now. That is what really matters, I think.

From a historical standpoint, it is rather intriguing how the concept of the "Shila", the deliverer, seemed to weave itself through the Brush Pony, Black Panther, and Cougar cultures. (Using Cougar with culture won't ever look right to me!) From what Fluttershy mentioned, the Brush Ponies had some very old texts that specifically described the events that took place on the day Equestria rescued them. That sort of thing is always mind boggling, how something can be written many hundreds of years ago, then boom! Well, it is hard to just explain that away as random chance. And it sounds like the Panthers; well I wonder if they somehow had access to Equestria or something. Their leader, Lady Grace, she seemed to have some sort of connection maybe, I don't know. I know it was just a dream, but still. And, the Cougars... Well, that... Maybe searing defeat is the only sort of "reasoning" they know, or remember...

I am honestly not suprised that... Summer and Shysage jumped so quickly in to help, even when they knew they could die... That is just the way they are. Both so deeply treasure the Magic of Friendship, putting others first... I just wish... Nevermind...

Well, I think this wraps up such an amazing account. We now have close relatives of the Pony race living among us! That should have amazing fruit. I think we will all enjoy each other. I think it was Ariel who said it was like Equestria finding a long lost cousin or something. I agree with that sentiment. I think the Brush Ponies belong among us.

Well, I need to get going. A Princess' work is never done! Well, this is so fun... The girls and I have been watching the Magic of Friendship unfold around a young Unicorn mare that came to live here in Ponyville recently. Well, she lives in a house out in the meadow, but still. I have been helping her with her magic. I sent one of the girls to see if she can come today, and I expect her soon. Watching a Unicorn's magic blossom, that is always such fun! And it just seems only right to collect a bunch of other Unicorns and have some magic fun together!

So, it's off to the printers with "Brush Ponies!"

...

...Wait... "...unofficial volume 13 of the Chronicles..." What is THAT?!?!?